Crux

Brazil congressman censures archbishop for defending indigenous land claims

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(Crux. Eduardo Campos Lima).

After a Brazilian archbishop criticized a legal argument aiming to limit land claims by indigenous groups, a Brazilian congressman introduced a motion to censure the prelate for allegedly promoting a leftist political agenda during a celebration of faith. Congressman Evair Vieira de Melo, one of the leaders of the opposition to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s government and the head of the Chamber of Deputies’ agriculture committee, introduced his petition on June 10, one day after a Mass marking the 10th anniversary of the canonization of Saint Joseph of Anchieta.

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South Sudan bishops blast government over lack of election preparation

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(Crux. Ngala Killian Ciimptom).

As South Sudan gears up for general elections in December, Catholic bishops in the world’s newest country say they are disappointed at the government’s lack of preparedness. It will be the first ever election conducted in the country since it obtained independence from Sudan in 2011. In a June 29 pastoral message at the end of a two-day meeting in the capital Juba, the bishops said an election isn’t a one-off affair but a process, and blasted the government for failing to live up to the bidding of such an undertaking. “Like all South Sudanese, we look forward with hope to the day when free and fair elections can be held in our country, but we are disappointed at the government’s lack of preparation,” they said.

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Ex-Missionaries of Charity allege culture of abuse and neglect

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(Crux. Elise An Allen).

Almost three decades after her death, Saint Teresa of Kolkata, commonly and affectionately referred to as “Mother Teresa,” remains an international icon of charity and among the most beloved figures in the world, probably the Catholic Church’s most celebrated 20th century personality who wasn’t a pope. Named Time’s “Person of the Year” in 1975, Mother Teresa also founded a religious order, the Missionaries of Charity, which has become one of the Catholic Church’s most celebrated institutions, almost universally hailed for its service to the “poorest of the poor.”

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India faces ‘crisis and conflict’ under influence of Hindu nationalist, priest says

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(Crux. Nirmala Carvalho).

A Catholic priest in India says “crisis, conflict and violence are becoming the way of life” in the country, after it suffered a rebuke in the U.S. State Department’s 2023 religious freedom report issued this week. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. government is concerned about the increase in anti-conversion laws, hate speech, demolitions of homes and places of worship of members of minority faith communities in India.

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Vatican demands changes to new Church body in Germany

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(Crux. Elise An Allen).

As part of an ongoing tug of war with the German bishops over the country’s controversial reform path, the Vatican has asked that several changes be made to a new national ecclesial body which curial officials have said has no foundation in Church law. In a June 28 statement after a day-long workday with representatives of the German Episcopal Conference (DBK), the Vatican said the discussion lasted the entire day and “was again characterized by a positive, open and constructive atmosphere.”

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Bishops’ conference defends funding cuts to justice, peace and development

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(Crux. John Lavenburg).

Days after the U.S. bishops announced layoffs and a reorganization to their Department of Justice, Peace and Human Development, setting off a firestorm in both the media and in Catholic circles, the conference has written a memo to bishops to explain its decision and to announce staff reductions to other departments. The June 28 memo to American bishops, obtained by Crux, states that four of 17 staff within JPHD were let go, as well as three of the six staff members within the Catholic Campaign for Human Development. The memo states that the changes were due to several factors, “mostly related to funding.”

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Human trafficking is a form of modern slavery in Ireland, bishops say

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(Crux. Charles Collins).

Ireland – north and south – is far from immune from human trafficking, according to the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference. Women account for 67 percent of people trafficked into Ireland, and trafficking for sexual exploitation is the most common form of this modern slavery, accounting for 55 percent of victims, followed by labor trafficking at 38 percent, according to a 2023 report by the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission.

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Kenyan bishops condemn killing of anti-tax protesters

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(Crux. Ngala Killian Chimtom).

Catholic bishops in Kenya have expressed disgust at the heavy-handed response of the police to anti-tax protesters that has resulted in several deaths. The Kenyan parliament on Tuesday voted for the controversial 2024/25 Finance Bill that sparked nationwide protests. The proposed law raises taxes on essential items like bread, vegetable oil, and sugar, raises an eco-levy that would apply to most manufactured goods (including items like sanitary towels and diapers), increases banking charges, and imposes higher annual charges on car owners. The tax bill seeks to raise an additional $2.7 billion in taxes, in order to decrease the country’s budget deficit without incurring additional debts.

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Disability shouldn’t be a ‘boutique interest’ for the Church, experts say

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(Crux. Elise An Allen). ç

Experts who participated in a recent conference on Safeguarding and Disability have said that a broader inclusion and recognition of the belonging of disabled individuals in church life would make abuse prevention easier and is something all faithful must work towards. Speaking to Crux, Anne Masters, who holds a doctorate in disability theology and who gave a presentation during the conference, said “what was interesting was, by bringing in folks with the experience on disability and practice and theology, it opened their eyes.”

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Church in Haiti overwhelmed by spike in gang violence

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(Crux. Eduardo Campos Lima).

Gang violence has led 580,000 Haitians to leave their houses and move elsewhere, according to a new UN report released earlier this week, with the Catholic Church also reeling from the chaos and rapid deterioration. Many of the displaced people left the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince and went to other provinces in order to escape the violence of the capital city, where 80 percent of the territory is under control of gangs.

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European bishops say Pope Francis concerned with abortion, EU unity

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(Crux. Elise Ann Allen).

European bishops this weekend had a meeting with Pope Francis in the wake of the recent EU elections, with the pontiff voicing concern over the weakening of the European Union as well as social issues such as abortion. Speaking to Crux, Father Manuel Barrios Prieto, secretary general of the Commission of Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE), described Saturday’s meeting with the pontiff as “very cordial” and open.

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Papal charity flags Islamic extremism in Africa’s Sahel as major threat

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(Crux. Ngala Killian Chimtom).

A Catholic charity that supports persecuted Christians around the world has identified the spread of terrorism and Islamic extremism in the African region of the Sahel as a cause of “great suffering and pain” for Christians on the continent. In a report published June 20, detailing how money raised in 2023 was spent, Aid to the Church in Need said it wants to step up assistance to the Sahel region “where jihadist terrorism is spreading and where Christians are facing increasing suffering from the violence.”

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Parolin helps US bishops on Viganò, church/state drama in Italy, and a new real estate deal

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(Crux. John L. Allen Jr).

There’s never a dull moment on the Vatican beat in the Pope Francis era, and the past week has offered a classic illustration of that truth, featuring dramatic charges of schism against an archbishop, a startling revelation regarding church/state relations in Italy, and a controversial real estate deal that once again could land the Vatican in hot water. Each story carries a special wrinkle, well worth unpacking. The week’s biggest headline was the breaking news that Italian Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, the former papal envoy to the U.S. who’s gone on to become Pope Francis’s most vocal — and, frankly, most extreme — critic, has been formally charged with schism by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.

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Catholic Relief Services begins ‘journey of hope’ for East Africa

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(Crux. Ngala Killian Chimton)

A new 2023-2030 strategic plan for East Africa that has been described as “the start of the journey of hope” has been launched by the Catholic Relief Services. The seven-year plan that was announced in Nairobi, Kenya on June 18 lays emphasis on a broad range of issues, including tackling climate change adaptation, fostering youth development, ensuring Health, nutrition and social services as well as the provision of water, hygiene and sanitation. It also promises to tackle issues like responding to emergencies, fostering local leadership and supporting disabled people. For the past four years, Kenya has suffered drought that has never been seen in recent times and just as the country was recovering from the drought, it then had some of its worst floods.

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Irish bishops say the Israel-Hamas war ‘is an attack on all of humanity’

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(Crux. Charles Collins).

Ireland’s bishops are calling for and to the conflict between Israel and Hamas and the release of refugees in a conflict that has lasted around 8 months. Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 Israelis and taking over 200 more as hostages. Israel then declared war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip, which has so far left an estimated 37,000 people dead. “We renew our call for an immediate cessation to the Israel/Hamas war in Gaza,” the Irish bishops said in a statement released on June 20. “As well as the innocent population affected by this conflict, we are asking people of faith to pray for the safety of staff of humanitarian agencies who, in their life-saving work, must be allowed unhindered access to deliver vital aid into Gaza to prevent further deaths by starvation and malnutrition,” the bishops said.

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Brazilian Supreme Court justice accuses bishops of ‘disinformation’ on marijuana debate

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(Crux. Eduardo Campos Lima).

As the Supreme Court of Brazil prepared to examine the decriminalization of marijuana possession, Justice Luis Roberto Barroso said the head of the Bishops’ Conference called him earlier to express his concerns over “the legalization of drugs,” adding it was a sign that he had been exposed to “disinformation.” Barroso claimed Archbishop Jaime Spengler of Porto Alegre had been misguided by “fake news,” since the court is not willing to allow the consumption of illicit drugs in Brazil.

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Major Archbishop Shevchuk says Ukraine’s freedom is essential for religious freedom

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(Crux).

Ukraine’s leading Catholic archbishop says an independent Ukraine is synonymous with religious freedom. The Head of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk was speaking in his address marking the 122th week of the full-scale Russian invasion. In his video message, Shevchuk said the last week was marked by Russia’s “war crimes against the civilian population of Ukraine.” Russia illegally annexed Crimea in 2014 and launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. There have been increased aerial attacks by both sides in the past few months, and intense fighting continues in the east of the country.

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Archdiocese in Kerala, India, refuses to follow decree from Syro-Malabar Major Archbishop

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(Crux. Nirmala Carvalho).

Tensions are continuing to rise within the Ernakulam-Angamaly archdiocese of the Syro-Malabar Church in Kerala, India, as clergy and laypeople resist efforts to impose a new liturgy on their parishes. A circular letter was issued by Major Archbishop Raphael Thattil – the head of the Syro-Malabar Church – and archdiocesan administrator Bosco Puthur was supposed to be read at Masses last week, but 321 churches in in the Ernakulam-Angamaly archdiocese refused to do so, resulting in protests and verbal assaults. The Syro-Malabar Church, with an estimated following of 4.25 million worldwide, is the second largest of the eastern Churches in communion with Rome. Ever since its synod decided in 2021 to adopt a new, unified mode of celebrating the Mass, the Church has been gripped by controversy, above all in its largest jurisdiction of Ernakulam-Algamany. The synod required that Mass be celebrated facing the people during the Liturgy of the Word, and facing the altar during the Liturgy of the Eucharist.

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Kenya president joins Pope Francis in calling for end of conflicts in Africa

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(Crux. Ngala Killian Chimtom).

Kenyan President William Ruto has joined Pope Francis in calling for peace in Africa, including an end to conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, Sudan and South Sudan. Addressing the G7 members in Apulia, Italy, the Kenyan president painted a disturbing picture of a world torn by conflict, and the horrible humanitarian toll they have inflicted on humanity. “In Sudan, hundreds of thousands have died; millions are displaced and face starvation. In the Middle East, the conflict in Gaza has claimed tens of thousands of lives, devastated the livelihoods of millions, and caused global economic shockwaves,” Ruto said on June 15. “Europe is grappling with a major conflict that has brought unthinkable carnage and widespread economic disruption,” he said, and added that the world finds itself “in the grip of relentless global challenges of unprecedented magnitude.”

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In reimagining the papacy, don’t underestimate its star power

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(Crux. John L. Allen Jr.).

Friday was among the most remarkable single days in the entire Pope Francis era, and given the way this papacy has generated non-stop thrills, chills and spills for more than 11 years now, that’s truly saying something. It was a long day’s journey into night, beginning at 8:30 a.m. with a still-unexplained, but nonetheless deeply amusing, encounter with more than 100 comedians from around the world – virtually every one of whom, for the record, told reporters they had no idea what they were doing in the Vatican – and ended fourteen hours later when Francis’s helicopter landed back in Rome, after the pontiff spent several hours at a G7 summit in the southern Italian region of Puglia. Any day that begins with the likes of Whoppi Goldberg, Jimmy Fallon and Conan O’Brien, and then ends in the company of Joe Biden, Giorgia Meloni and Emanuel Macron, has to go down as memorable. (I leave it to the reader to mull which cast of characters, in the end, is the more laughable.) In addition to cajoling the G7 on the ethical dimension of artificial intelligence while in Puglia, Pope Francis also conducted bilateral meetings with nine heads of state, including not only Biden but President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India, as well as the Director General of the International Monetary Fund.

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